CMA to address affordability of health care at annual meeting The 147th Annual Session of the California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates (HOD) will tackle one major issue—addressing the cost of health care—when it convenes October 13-14, 2018, in Sacramento. CMA physician delegates meet annually to establish broad policy on current major issues that have been determined to be the most important issues affecting members, the association and the practice of medicine. Because this year’s topic is a large issue, it has been divided up into four categories. Addressing Utilization Through Improved Care Delivery Addressing Increasing Pharmaceutical Costs Reducing Administrative Burdens on Physician Practices Enhancing Competitiveness of the Health Care Market Earlier this year, some lawmakers in California introduced a reckless proposal to put a new government bureaucracy in charge of health care. AB 3087, authored by Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), would have created a commission of unelected political appointees empowered to arbitrarily cap rates for all health care services in all clinics, hospitals and physician practices in California. This dangerous rate setting proposal would have moved California away from value-based care and universal access, backwards to an antiquated fee-for-service model that discouraged contracting and stifles innovation. While CMA was able to defeat the bill, the underlying issue that the bill's proponents sought to address—the rising cost of health care—is likely to be the subject of future state and federal legislation. As California prepares to transition to a new gubernatorial administration, developing a comprehensive health care cost containment plan will be critical to clarifying CMA's priorities for health care for the incoming governor. Due to the volume of reforms that would be required to effect meaningful health care cost containment, the proposed reforms will be discussed across the four goals listed above. Reports on these goals are now available for comment. All members are welcome to submit comments online at www.cmanet.org/hod. July 11, 2018 CMA CMA Policy, House of Delegates 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA to tackle three major issues at annual meeting The 146th Annual Session of the California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates (HOD) will tackle three major issues—health care reform (on both the federal and state level), physician workforce and mental health care—when it convenes October 21-22, 2017, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. CMA physician delegates meet annually to establish broad policy on current major issues that have been determined to be the most important issues affecting members, the association and the practice of medicine. Reports on these major issues are now available for comment. All members are welcome to submit comments online at www.cmanet.org/hod. Health Care Reform: While the future of federal health care reform remains unclear, CMA continues to work with federal and state lawmakers to ensure that the health care system works for physicians and patients. The CMA House of Delegates will discuss recommendations and regulations that will assist with health care reform at both the state and national levels. Physician Workforce: Maintaining a physician workforce that ensures all patients have sufficient and timely access to quality medical care continues to be a challenge for California. The delegates will discuss barriers that impact the practice medicine in California and will analyze various strategies and policies that will promote solutions to address the physician workforce problem. Mental Health: For decades, CMA policy has strongly supported adequate funding and provisions for high-quality mental health care. However, despite raised awareness, mental illness continues to go unrecognized and underfunded in California; many people with mental illnesses do not receive the help they need. The delegates will discuss significant factors affecting the mental health system including access and infrastructure, and will consider policies to support and improve the mental health system. September 27, 2017 CMA, General Affordable Care Act, Affordable Care Act (ACA) Repeal, CMA Policy, Health Care Reform, House of Delegates, Mental Health, Physician Workforce, Single Payor 0 0 Comment Read More »
Q4 resolutions now accepting testimony As part of its policy-making process, the California Medical Association (CMA) allows members to submit resolutions for debate and discussion throughout the year. These resolutions will be considered by the standing Councils and Subcommittees, and will be presented to the Board of Trustees for consideration to be adopted as policy for the association. There are now eight new resolutions online for consideration in the fourth quarter of 2017. They are posted at www.cmanet.org/hod and will be available for testimony until September 8, 2017. After testimony closes, the resolutions and all the testimony will be forwarded to the appropriate CMA council or subcommittee for consideration. Member testimony and feedback will be considered by the councils and subcommittees as they make policy recommendations to the Board of Trustees. The trustees will then take action on the recommendations at their next meeting, in the fourth quarter of 2017. Please click here to access the discussion portal for year-round resolutions. You will need to log-in with your CMA web account. Before providing testimony, please take a moment to read any background materials and/or analyses, which can be found in the upper right corner of each resolution page. Resolutions to be considered in Q4 include: 109-17: Medical Exemptions from Childhood Vaccinations 110-17: The Use of Cannabis as an Exit Drug for Opioid Dependency 111-17: Policy and Procedures for Inpatient Use of Medical Cannabis 112-17: Workplace Lead Exposure 113-17: Wireless Technology and Public Health White Paper 307-17: Realignment of the Year-Round Resolution Process 308-17: CMA Resolution Process 309-17: CMA House Of Delegates Video/Audio Tapes How to submit a resolution If you are interested in submitting a resolution for consideration in the first quarter of 2017-2018, the submission deadline is October 24, 2017. You are encouraged, however, to submit to resolutions@cmanet.org well in advance of the deadline to ensure that your policy idea is considered promptly. Please read the guidelines before submitting a resolution. Resolutions that do not follow the guidelines will be rejected. Contact: CMA Member Resource Center, (800) 786-4262 or memberservice@cmanet.org. August 10, 2017 CMA CMA Policy, House of Delegates, Important Deadline 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA physicians converge on Sacramento for annual meeting More than 500 California physicians convened in Sacramento this weekend for the 145th Annual Session of the California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates (HOD), which convened October 15-16, 2016, at the Sacramento Convention Center. This meeting marks the end of the first year of CMA’s new governance reforms. Under the new system of governance, the HOD now meets to establish broad policy on current major issues affecting members, the association and the practice of medicine. The major issues discussed this year were: MACRA Maintenance of Certification Opioids Physician Burnout ACA Changes Public Health Before debating the issues, the delegates heard from experts in each major issue area, and for the first time continuing medical education (CME) credit was offered for these educational sessions. Final reports detailing the actions taken by the delegates will be posted later this week at www.cmanet.org/hod. For other news from the meeting, click here. Photos from the event are available on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cmaphysicians. Please tag yourselves and your colleagues! Submit a Resolution Another significant change to the governance process is the year-round (quarterly) resolution process. Any CMA member may author a resolution and have it submitted to the Board of Trustees using the year-round process. This approach preserves the ability of individual members to participate in and influence CMA policy-making in a more timely way, rather than waiting for a once-a-year opportunity at HOD, which had been CMA’s tradition. This allows CMA to be more nimble and effective in making decisions on critical issues that are important to physicians. If you have a resolution you would like to submit for next quarter, e-mail it to resolutions@cmanet.org. Please read the guidelines for submission and formatting before submitting a resolution. Resolutions that do not follow the guidelines will be rejected. The resolution submission deadline for the 1st quarter of 2017 is October 19, 2016, and for the 2nd quarter, January 22, 2017. Contact: Michelle Chapanian, (800) 786-4262 or mchapanian@cmanet.org. November 1, 2016 CMA House of Delegates, CMA Policy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Register today for CMA webinar on how to get involved (or more involved) in organized medicine The California Medical Association (CMA) will host a webinar on CMA’s recently reformed physician governance structure and how members can get involved in organized medicine on Wednesday, February 10, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. This webinar will be presented by CMA Speaker of the House of Delegates, Theodore M. Mazer, M.D. Dr. Mazer is a board-certified otolaryngologist who has been working in a small, solo practice in San Diego for more than 25 years. Dr. Mazer will present information on the new year-round resolutions process; becoming a member of the House of Delegates; and applying to serve on a council, subcommittee or other governance body. See how your voice can impact the future of medicine in California – and how you can contribute to CMA governance. This webinar is free and for CMA members only. Click here for more information or to register. Contact: Juli Reavis, (916) 551-2046 or jreavis@cmanet.org. February 9, 2016 General Webinars, CMA Policy 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA now accepting testimony for the first batch of year-round resolutions At the close of the California Medical Association (CMA) 2015 House of Delegates last month, new governance reforms took effect. One of the most significant changes to the bylaws allow for the submission of resolutions for debate and discussion throughout the year, rather than just once a year as was previously the case. This will allow CMA to be more nimble and effective in making decisions on critical issues that are important to physicians. CMA members are wasting no time availing themselves of the new year-round resolutions process. CMA has posted four approved resolutions that have been submitted for consideration by the Board of Trustees. Those resolutions are now online for the first round of public testimony, which will be open until December 14, 2015. After testimony closes, the resolutions and all the testimony will be forwarded to the appropriate CMA council for consideration. Member testimony and feedback will be considered by the councils as they make policy recommendations to the Board of Trustees. Please click here to access the discussion portal for year-round resolutions. You will need to log-in with your CMA web account. If this is your first time accessing your web account, you will need to register here. If you have a resolution you would like to submit for next quarter, please e-mail it to resolutions@cmanet.org. Please read the guidelines for submission and formatting before submitting a resolution. Resolutions that do not follow the guidelines will be rejected. The resolution submission deadline for the 2nd quarter is January 21, 2016, but we encourage you to submit well in advance of the deadline to ensure that your policy idea is considered promptly. Contact: CMA member service center, (800) 786-4262 or memberservice@cmanet.org. November 20, 2015 CMA House of Delegates, CMA Policy 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA now accepting online testimony for 2015 House of Delegates The California Medical Association’s (CMA) 2015 House of Delegates (HOD) will convene at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, October 16-18. The HOD meets annually to establish broad policy on current major issues and elect CMA officers, including president-elect, speaker and vice speaker. The resolutions that will be discussed at this year's meeting are now available for review and comment online at www.cmanet.org/hod. Testimony is open to all members, and is not limited to members of the House of Delegates. For the first time, testimony this year will only take place online for all six reference committees. There will be no in-person hearings for oral testimony at the meeting. Reference committee members will review all posted remarks, which are given the same weight and consideration as oral testimony presented in traditional committee hearings. Please read what your colleagues post and add your own written arguments and comments. All online testimony must be received by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, October 2. To view individual resolutions and reports and submit testimony online, visit www.cmanet.org/hod. You will be prompted to log in (if you are not already logged in) and then will be taken directly to the HOD landing page. From there, click on the Resolutions and Reports tab. Beneath each resolution and report in this section, you can view comments posted by your colleagues and add your own written testimony. Please note that there is a 500-word comment limit on each resolution, and posting multiple sequential comments to avoid the 500-word limit is not permitted. Comments in violation of this policy will be deleted. If you have not already done so, you will have to activate your CMA web account in order to access this private area of the website. If you have any trouble activating your account or accessing the HOD section of the website, please contact CMA's member service center for assistance at (800) 786-4262 or memberservice@cmanet.org. September 23, 2015 General House of Delegates, CMA Policy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Online testimony for 2014 House of Delegates opens Friday at 5 p.m. The California Medical Association's (CMA) 2014 House of Delegates (HOD) will convene in San Diego, December 5-7. The HOD is CMA's legislative body, which establishes the policies that govern the association. At this year's meeting, physicians from across the state will debate and set policy on important health care issues. During the three-day meeting, more than 500 delegates will address nearly 100 resolutions on key issues that affect the practice of medicine. CMA invites all members to visit its online forum starting this Friday, November 7, at 5 p.m., to discuss or comment on the resolutions and reports that will be considered by the delegates. To participate in the online discussion, log into your web account and click on "My Account" at the top of the page. Once there, you will see a button on the left side called "House of Delegates." All resolutions and report to be acted on by the House are assigned to reference committees, which receive testimony and develop recommendations for action. This year three “virtual” reference committees will receive only online written testimony and will not convene in person hearings at the annual session. These online only committees are A) Science and Public Health, B) Government Health Programs/Health System Reform and F) Health Professions and Facilities. After testimony is received the committees will meet via teleconference to deliberate and develop recommendations for action by HOD. To provide online testimony on resolutions and reports, click on the "Resolutions and Reports" tab, and then click on the "Post Comment" button below any of the resolutions on which you wish to provide testimony. You can also download the reports and resolutions in both Word (.doc) and Acrobat (.pdf) formats by clicking on the "Documents" tab. Note that resolutions and reports will not be available for review prior to 5 p.m. on November 7. Written testimony will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. November 20 for business assigned to the “virtual” committees (A, B and F), and until 11:59 p.m. December 3 for business assigned to all other committees. If you have any questions, please contact the CMA member help center at (800) 786-4262 or memberservice@cmanet.org. November 6, 2014 General House of Delegates, CMA Policy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Get involved: Submit a resolution to the 2013 House of Delegates The most effective way an individual member can influence CMA's policies and activities is to submit resolutions to the House of Delegates, the association's legislative body. The delegates meet annually to debate and act on resolutions and reports dealing with myriad medical practice, public health, and CMA governance issues. This year's annual meeting is October 11-13 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, and the deadline to submit resolutions is August 12. Any CMA member may author a resolution, but a delegate, alternate delegate, component medical society, or specialty delegation must submit the resolution. Before authoring a resolution, physicians are strongly encouraged to review CMA's policy compendium to make sure that the association does not already have similar policy on the issue. The policy compendium is available to members only. For more information on submitting a resolution, contact your county medical society. Click here for detailed instructions (including required format, allowed subject matter, and submission rules). Contact: Roger Purdy, (916) 444-5532 or rpurdy@cmanet.org. July 19, 2013 General House of Delegates, CMA Governance, CMA Policy 0 0 Comment Read More »
